In the eyes of the Mongols, Guo Ning's headquarters is naturally the troops led by Guo Zhongyuan.
Guo Zhongyuan took up this post and was very cautious and careful.
After he defeated the troops of the surrendered general Zhao Jin and others, he quickly moved closer to Yidu, but did not enter the city.
Most of the garrison originally stationed in Yidu Prefecture were brought to Linzi, an important military town west of the Zi River by Wanyan Sala. Now stationed in Yidu are two local militia leaders, Zhang Lin and Yan Ning.
Zhang Lin is a native of Yidu and has a reputation for bravery. Yan Ning is a native of Juzhou, and his official position is in Juzhou.
Both generals are talented, but when they suddenly take on a big responsibility, how can they not be nervous?
Five days ago, the two of them heard that Ding Haijun Jiedushi defeated the Mongolian army at the Xiangshan Pass outside Yidu City. They were both overjoyed and sent envoys one after another to contact them. In order to cover up the fact that his army was not led by Guo Ning, Guo Zhongyuan had no choice but to
He treated them lukewarmly. Moreover, his troops did not enter the city. Instead, they temporarily stationed themselves at the former site of Dongyang City to the north of Yidu City, across the Yangshui River.
Dongyang City was a fortified city built by Emperor Wu of the Song Dynasty in the early years after he conquered Murong Chao and pacified Guangguang. It is opposite to the two cities of Nanyang City south of Yangshui River, hugging the water like a moon. Originally, the two cities were combined to form the seat of Yidu, and later Jingkang
During that time, the Jurchen soldiers went south and burned Dongyang City, which has been abandoned to this day.
Zhang Lin and Yan Ning, for the sake of their own safety, really hoped that Minister Guo Ning would be stationed in Dongyang City, so they sent people overnight to deliver food and supplies.
Who would have expected that two days later, Guo Ning's troops would set out in a hurry again with great fanfare.
Zhang Lin asked: "Did Guo Ning ever say why he left?"
The official said: "We still haven't seen Guo Jiedu, but the commander Guo Zhongyuan came forward. According to him, it was because the Laizhou stronghold was attacked by the Mongolian army."
The second general of Yidu heard this and was immediately surprised.
Yan Ning asked repeatedly: "How come there are Mongolian troops in Laizhou? Our Yidu Mansion is obviously still there, and the two defense lines of Zishui and Qushui are also there... How can there be any reason for the Mongols to sneak across and attack Laizhou?"
The official was stunned, where could he answer?
Zhang Lin walked a few steps back and forth in the room, snorted and said: "I think it was Guo Ning who was reluctant to put his elite in Yidu, just looking for a reason! Hey, he is the military commander of the Ding Navy, and he fought for us.
Zhao Jin, Yang Wan and other generals have surrendered their troops, and they have tried their best. If we leave now, can we still force ourselves to stay?"
Yan Ning lowered his head and thought for a moment, then asked the official: "Guo Jiedu's troops had a fierce battle before, and there were many wounded. Now that their headquarters has returned to the division, where are the wounded?"
"There are really a lot of wounded people. They have set up a camp in Dongyang City. The camp is not small. It is roughly estimated that there are more than a thousand people housed, with varying degrees of serious injuries. Some of the people who came with me were in charge of this wounded camp.
Officer, he will go to the city to hire a doctor soon."
"Thousands of people? The army came with great force, so there were so many casualties?"
Zhang Lin shook his head repeatedly: "I have heard for a long time that although Guo Ning is young, he is a frontier hero, brave and good at fighting, and he is also known as the boss in Zhongdu City. Now it seems that with five thousand elites against the long-distance attacking rebels, they have to win miserably.
...It’s so famous that it’s hard to live up to it!”
Yan Ning stood by and shook his head slightly. He knew his family's affairs, and his and Zhang Lin's armies totaled five to six thousand people. But when Zhao Jin's troops passed through Yidu, the two of them huddled in the city and did not dare to move.
Now he laughs at Guo Ning, which is ridiculous.
If Guo Ning is not worthy of his name, what are Zhang Lin and Yan Ning? What are so many generals under the command of Shandong Army Commander Wan Yan Sala? What are the thousands of troops in Hebei's military prefectures?
The subordinates of the surrendered generals are also the Mongolian army. So far, only Guo Ning's troops can defeat the Mongolian army in the field! How can we underestimate them?
Thinking of this, Yan Ning stood up and said: "Those wounded soldiers are all heroes who fought against the Mongols. They should not be ignored. You go back immediately and ask the officer to wait for a while. I will accompany him to recruit a doctor. In addition, I will also serve you some food and wine."
"
Seeing Yan Ning's sudden solemnity, Zhang Lin smiled and said, "Yan Tikong, why are you so attentive?"
His tone was relaxed and somewhat mocking.
It turned out that Zhang Lin was a local hero in Yidu and had a strong influence in the local area. After Wanyan Salara led his troops abroad, he used Zhang Lin to know the power of Yidu Prefecture and govern the country.
Yan Ning, on the other hand, was an outsider, and his serious boss was Hengsi, the governor of Juzhou.
Yan Ning's post of prosecutor was one of the official positions that suddenly became popular in the past two years. Because the imperial court's troops in the border areas were on the verge of depletion, a large number of local garrisons were withdrawn, leaving a huge void in local security affairs. Therefore, official positions were frequently granted to local militia leaders.
, or it is called the commander-in-chief, or it is called the commander-in-chief, or it is called the mission, or it is called the follow-up, and so on.
Yan Ning was the militia leader in Juzhou. He was young and promising, good at bow and horse, and quite capable in running the army. Therefore, he was appointed as the commander by the new Juzhou governor Hengsi.
However, both inside and outside Juzhou have been almost completely controlled by the rebel Yang An'er in recent years, and Hengsi himself can only sit and guard the city. What does it mean to be prosecuted by Juzhou?
A few months ago, Yanning, as the representative of Hengsi, came to Yidu to request Wanyan Salara, the commander of the army, to send troops to quell the chaos, but Wanyan Salara ignored him. As a result, not long after, Wanyan encountered the Mongolian army.
Sala himself led his army out. At this moment, he remembered that there was a person named Yan Ning, so he handed over the entire Yidu City to Zhang Lin and Yan Ning.
Zhang Lin and Yan Ning were not from the same line. After Yan Ning settled in Yidu, he would inevitably expand his military strength. Therefore, he and Zhang Lin seemed to be in harmony, but there was quite a bit of intrigue beneath the surface.
Zhang Lin saw that Yan Ning cared so much about the wounded soldiers, so he only thought that he wanted to recruit old soldiers from among the wounded soldiers.
But the officials also said that the injuries of the wounded soldiers varied in severity; moreover, those people were abandoned by Guo Ning after a battle... Guo Ning did not value them, which shows that their elite level is very limited! Maybe the old soldiers
Instead of recruiting them, they wet their hands with flour and got themselves into trouble and spent a lot of money and food!
When Zhang Lin thought of this, he didn't wait for Yan Ning to answer, raised his head, laughed, and strode away.
Yan Ning stood in the empty hall with a complex look on her face. After a while, she said to the official: "You come to lead the way. I'll go see the officer who ordered the navy."
Half a moment later.
Yan Ning exclaimed and stepped back until she bumped into a chair in the small hall and fell down.
On the contrary, it was the young officer of the navy, although his position was only a lieutenant, and one of his arms was broken, tied with linen and fixed on a wooden board, and his face was not good, but he was proud and full of momentum.
Yan Ning asked solemnly: "Your Majesty, are you saying that the thousands of people in your department are not Guo Jiedu's headquarters, but Guo Zhongyuan, the subordinates of Commander Guo?"
"That's right!" the young officer replied proudly.
After a pause, he continued: "Thousands of us are a temporary gathering of troops. If Guo Jiedu's elite troops were here, they could wipe out those rebel troops with a flip of their hands, so why bother!
"
Yan Ning couldn't help but say "Hey!"
He pressed the armrests of the chair with both hands, and when he was about to stand up, he couldn't help but ask again: "You also said that Guo Jiedu himself was in Laizhou, setting a trap for the Mongolian army, and was about to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop? Is this
Really?…not a joke?”
"Of course it's true."
The young officer's name was Guo Alin, and he was Guo Zhongyuan's good friend in Zhongdu and a close confidant in the army. He had already received Guo Zhongyuan's orders before and knew that the decisive battle was coming. There was no need to hide anything anymore. He immediately told Guo Ning and other generals' calculations one by one.
Come.
Finally, he said: "The defense line set up by Commander Wanyan in Yidu is just like paper in the eyes of the Mongolian army. The commander of the Mongolian army, the Fourth Prince Tuo Lei, is an old enemy of my family.
, as long as he knows about my Jieshuai’s movements, he will definitely come to challenge... But he will never dare to confront my Jieshuai head-on, and he will definitely come up with the trick of siege and reinforcements. And this is all within my Jieshuai’s plan, and it happens to be
A big victory will determine the situation in Shandong in one fell swoop."
Guo Alin's eloquence was not very good, and his speech was a bit confusing. Some words were obviously copied from Guo Zhongyuan's original words and he said them several times.
But precisely because of this, Yan Ning did not doubt the authenticity of these words.
He slumped in his chair and was stunned for a long time before saying: "Since the Mongolian army broke into Yanshan, it has broken through dozens of military prefectures and defeated more than ten imperial soldiers and horses, with 200,000 to 300,000 people. They are invincible. However, Guo Jiedu could not reach Shandong.
Do you dare to fight the Mongolian army in half a month? How brave is Guo Jiedu to such an extent?"
Guo Alin laughed and said: "This is not the first time we have to fight a decisive battle with the Mongolian army."
"How do you say this?" Yan Ning stood up and asked urgently.
"A few months ago, Marshal Zuo Dujian Pucha Ali led a large army to protect the current emperor when he went to Beijing. As a result, he encountered the Mongolian army heading south and was defeated in a battle. Thanks to my family's commander-in-chief, he led thousands of troops and fought against the enemy in Tangbo, Hebei.
He defeated several thousand Mongol troops in one breath and snatched away the emperor... That's why the fourth Mongolian prince Tuo Lei was extremely afraid of my commander-in-chief!"
The reason behind the encounter between Guo Ning and Tuo Lei was very complicated, and it also involved the direction of the court, so Guo Ning did not explain the inside story in detail to the soldiers.
As a result, the soldiers inevitably inquired about each other, and passed the news around, and it became like this when it came to Guo Alin's ears. Fortunately, it was almost the same, and the cowhide was not blown.
Yan Ning sighed dejectedly, took two steps back, and sat down in the chair again.
After a while, he whispered: "That Guo Ning is really so powerful!"
Yan Ning was also young and promising, and had many deeds of defending his hometown and repelling bandits. He was also quite proud of his own bravery and talents.
But at this moment, he suddenly felt that his pride was a joke. Guo Ning was about the same age as himself, but he moved to northern Xinjiang to fight against truly powerful enemies and won many times. If he could defeat the Mongolian army this time
, will definitely become famous from now on and become a star shining in Shandong.
Compared with Guo Ning, I, Yan Ning, am far behind.
If Guo Ning fights fiercely with the Mongolian army, but I sit and defend the city, fearing the battle, it will only be worse in the future!
He was stunned. Guo Alin and the officials were too embarrassed to disturb him and waited aside.
After a while, Yan Ning made up her mind.
"Commander Guo left this morning, right?"
Guo Alin said: "Yes."
Yan Ning turned to the official and said: "You accompany Lieutenant Guo and organize things in the city. Everything Lieutenant Guo needs, whether it is doctors, medicine, grain, armor and equipment, tents, horses and livestock, whatever you have, I will give it to you."
Just put it on Yan Ning’s head.”
Guo Alin did not expect Yan Ning to be so generous, and immediately saluted with great joy.
Yan Ning nodded to him and stepped out.
The leader of Yan Ning's cavalry escort, the fierce-looking Wang Bao'er, came up to him: "Charge..."
Yan Ning said simply and neatly: "The cavalry of our headquarters will be ready immediately. Bring enough weapons, supplies, and water to set off with me within an hour!"